Carlin Isles burst into rugby's consciousness at the end of 2012 when a series of video clips appeared on the internet of him outpacing all and sundry at the Gold Coast Sevens for the USA. Just as footage of his compatriot Taku Ngwenya leaving Bryan Habana in his slipstream during the 2007 World Cup made him an overnight sensation, so too did the footage of Isles, with everyone wanting to know more about him.

That he could leave even the best defences chasing his shadow should not have come as any surprise seeing as he holds a personal best of 10.13 for the 100m and 6.65 for the 60m, but what was truly remarkable was that he had only taken up the sport in June 2012 having turned his back on a career in athletics.

While his PB may appear impressive on a rugby pitch, on the track it left him trailing behind the likes of Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay for a place in the USA's London 2012 Olympic Games team. He had previously received a track and field scholarship to Ashland University, but in training for the London Olympic trials he stumbled upon some rugby video clips and quickly made a call to former England scrum-half Nigel Melville, now CEO of USA rugby.

The ex-London Wasps and Gloucester director of rugby quickly spotted his potential and added him to the USA's sevens programme. After a run out for a development side at the Victoria 7s he was included in the squad for the Gold Coasts sevens and after leaving a number of the New Zealand side for dead with his speed, the video of him became an overnight sensation.

He has subsequently been included in the squads for the Dubai, South Africa, New Zealand and Las Vegas legs of the IRB Sevens World Series. The next step now is to get to grips with rugby's myriad rules and regulations and then he can begin to think about performing on the biggest stage of all - at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.